Davy watched as a rock fell down from the cliff he was on, into a deep cove beneath him. The rock tumbled down the rocks, and landed into the lake deep below. Next to it was a ship, about the size of a small galleon. From up above, Davy could hear ghostly whispers on it, and the occasional deep laugh. Davy wanted badly to find a way down onto that ship, but knew that he should stay up here, so he could see The Shadow King coming to the island. Assuming it ever did. The cliff was at least two hundred feet tall, and its walls were made of a dark black lava rock. Off to the side, was a cave. The entrance had burnt out torches on the edges, and the cave extended into the darkness.

I will save the rest of this island for another adventure, Davy thought. It was morning by now. The night had seemed to end right after he saved Joanna, even though Davy thought there were at least a few more hours left of night.

The day passed without any sign of The Shadow King. Davy headed back to the path that lead to this area. It was surrounded by steep walls, providing shelter. Davy found a secluded quiet area of the caves. He made sure to stay hidden, so that in the event of a Rage Ghost, it may not see him. He definitely didn’t want to encounter another one of those Ghosts. He was so tired now, that he definitely couldn’t face another.

Right as Davy was about to put his head down his rolled up shirt, he heard a noise. At first, he thought it was the howl of a Rage Ghost, but then he breathed a sigh of relief. It was only his stomach, grumbling so loud that any and every Rage Ghost in the area would have come to find him. Davy chuckled softly, and then got up. The sun was almost gone, so he would have to hunt by voodoo light.

He used voodoo to light a sphere of light that followed him around the little canyon. He readied his hands, and summoned voodoo power. He planned to use voodoo to kill his prey, and if he used his sword, there wouldn’t be much meat left. He rounded a few corners, and saw a group of bats. He shut off his light, so he wouldn’t startle them, and then moved near them, using voodoo to conceal himself. Finally, Davy got within ten or so meters of the bats, and then struck.

He used an instant killing voodoo trick he had learned to kill about ten bats instantly. The bats dropped lifeless to the floor, as the others flew away in fear. Davy smiled hungrily, and picked up the bats. He walked back to where he had left his belongings, and laid the bats on a rock. He gathered some wood, and lit a fire using voodoo. Then he gutted the bats, and laid them on a little platform he made out of wood, which he had cursed so that it wouldn’t burn.

Davy turned the bats for about ten minutes, ten long, hungry minutes. Finally, he decided that the bats were cooked well enough, and pulled them off. Davy ate as if he hadn’t eaten well in days, which was somewhat true, as the last time he ate was probably well before the battle against The Harkaway. He ate ravenously, and within a few minutes, there was nothing left of the bats.

Davy belched loudly. The burp echoed through the canyon, and through the quiet of the night. He was terrified that a Rage Ghost would hear him, and he moved back into a corner. He waited there for several minutes, to scared to move. Finally, after not hearing anything, he came out. The quiet was pure. There were no sounds on the island at all. The ravens had long since gone to their nests and gone to sleep. The island was dead silent. And dead, but that was different.

Davy set down his shirt, and laid his head on it. He was exhausted. He hadn’t slept since he woke up on the island. He closed his eyes, and drifted to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~

Davy could escape the real world by sleep, but not his dreams. He found himself standing back in the room where Jolly had kept Billy prisoner, in the cave. Billy hung by chains in the same spot as he was before, but he was worse off than before. His shirt was almost completely torn off, and his pants were torn, exposing huge cuts in his legs. A large gash ran across his chest, and various other cuts and bruises were across his body.

“Ye cannot last forever Billy Fireskull, eventually you will have to join me, or die,” Jolly Roger said, walking into Davy’s vision. “Ye had better hope that yer pathetic brother will come for ye soon. Then ye won’t have to die alone!”

“He’s not pathetic you swine!” Billy cried out, facing Jolly. His eyes were bloodshot, and his face was covered with dirt and grime. “And I will never give in to you! I will join you the day I die!”

Jolly grinned, “I can arrange that… but until then, you will be tortured until you give in to joining me. Fireskull, I should not have to torture you. Use your common sense. You can see that I am on the winning side. I have the Sword of Darkness, making me even more powerful than before. Soon, I will launch a full attack on one of the Caribbean’s main islands. I will capture it, and from there, I will slowly conquer the rest of the Caribbean! And I will rule!”
Billy spat at Jolly. Jolly showed a disgusted face, then walked closer to Billy, breathing in his face, he said:

“Soon, ye will see the truth in my statements. Soon, ye shall see the error of yer ways.”

Davy watched the scene in horror. He could see Billy couldn’t stand much more of this torture. He had to get to him as soon as possible. He couldn’t just let him die! He was his brother!

I lost him once, I can’t lose him again, Davy thought to himself.

He saw Jolly walking away from Billy. He was coming directly towards Davy. Davy tried to move, but he couldn’t move in his dream form. Davy was frozen in horror as Jolly’s eyes bored into him.

Jolly slashed through Davy with his flintlock blade on his right hand, and the dream went black.

~~~~~~~~~~

Davy awoke panting. His heart was beating extremely fast, and he was sweating in places he didn’t know could sweat. The sun was rising, and he could hear the ravens cawing. He got up, and put on his shirt. He strapped his sword to his belt, and walked down the path until he reached the area with the ship far below.

As he walked around the chasm, Davy looked out to sea. A face of joy filled his face. Sailing into the cove, with her damaged hull and black sails, was The Shadow King. Davy cried out in joy, and ran back the way he came. He passed through the canyon, and after jogging for about five minutes, he reached the elevator. He decided that his sword was too heavy to carry, and he wouldn’t need it, as he could get a better one on the ship. He dropped the sword, but took the dagger.

Something to keep from Raven’s Cove, Davy thought. I can never forget this place. I will come back. I swear on that!

Davy turned the key on the elevator, and it began its decent onto the beach of Raven’s Cove. After Davy stepped off, he jogged down this beach, and passed through the rock archway, into the ruins of the town square. Davy walked through the ruined town. He took one last look at the sad sight of crumbling buildings, and walked around a corner. He heard a gunshot, and jumped.

“Davy! There you are!” Davy heard a voice call. He turned to where the sound of the gun was fired, and saw Zolina standing with her gun pointed toward him. Behind her was Sam, Matt, Kate, Will, and another woman from the ship, who went by the name Luckie.

Zolina lowered her gun, and said, “Davy! I’m so sorry! I didn’t see it was you, I…”

Sam cut her off with a wave of his hand, “Davy! Thank goodness! We were so afraid you were dead! We sailed around the area after we fled the battle for any sign of you. I had seen your dingy leave The Harkaway after you told us to flee, and I had to go back for ye! We searched around for any land mass, and found this one. Thank the lord you’re here!”

Davy walked up to them, and gave each a hug. “Thank the lord you’re here. Lets get off this wretched island. I’ll tell you about everything later. For now, I need some food, water, some new clothes, and some bandages.”

Davy turned to her and a smile appeared on his lips, “I think I probably just did.”

Before she had time to ask anything else, Davy walked up to Sam and nudged him. Sam turned to face him.

“Billy, did he get back?” Davy asked. He was desperately hoping that what Joanna showed him and his dream were somehow wrong. He knew the answer before Sam said it.

“I’m sorry Davy. I truly am. He never made it back to the ship.”

Davy sighed, “All right then. Well, for now lets worry about getting back to the ship.”

Sam nodded. After another few minutes of walking, they arrived back on the King. The crewmates smiled when they saw Davy was back, and gave him a few more than light slaps on the back. After exchanging some short dialogues with some of his crewmates, he locked himself in his Captain’s quarters with his rescue team, and began to tell them what happened to him on Raven’s Cove.

The crew sat and took everything in that Davy had said. He went through his whole tale of what happened on Raven’s Cove. There were few questions that they asked, except for clarification purposes. When Sam heard the name Joanna, he raised his eyebrow a little bit, but made no comment. The name seemed to ring a bell in his head, but Davy didn’t ask him about it.

They all sat around Davy’s desk in his quarters, saying nothing. Zolina nervously sipped at her rum, and Will was rubbing his thumb against the hilt of his broadsword, which was sheathed in his belt. Sam was perfectly calm; his face showing no emotion. Matt finally broke the awkward silence.

“Davy, if I remember correctly, you told us that you would teach us to use voodoo powers like yours. It would be extremely handy to be able to do that in combat, especially fighting foes as nasty as the undead.”

“Aye,” Luckie said. “Teaching us to use the voodoo arts would be very beneficial to our strength in combat. In fact, I think it would be best to teach the entire crew, if possible. A whole crew of voodoo users would be so powerful, we could rule the seas!”

Davy nodded, “Aye, your right mates. I’ll start with teaching you six first though. After I teach you the basics, and see how it works out, I will do it with the whole crew. As you said Luckie, we could be a deadly enemy if we could all use voodoo. But for now, I must sleep. In the morning, lets set a course for Padres Del Fuego. I believe that the cave where Billy is being kept is there. After we have our course set, I’ll begin training you all. Until then, I bid you all a good night.”

The others filed out of the cabin. Sam stayed in the doorway for a moment, and looked at Davy with an expression that Davy couldn’t read. Before he could ask anything, Sam left. Davy locked his door, extinguished his lantern, and went to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning was warm and sunny, peaceful even. Another ordinary day in the Caribbean. The course was set for Padres Del Fuego. They had a good wind at their backs, and in no time, the black shape of Raven’s Cove was far behind them. Davy told himself he would go back there one day. After all this was over. Around noon, Davy called Sam, Matt, Zolina, Will, Luckie, and Kate into his quarters. The training was about to begin.

“Alright now mates,” Davy said to his friends. “What I am about to teach you is extremely difficult. I discovered my powers after I had been almost turned into a skeleton by Jolly Roger. Probably the reason I was able to use voodoo so easily was because part of his powers were transferred to me. I’m not sure how it will work with you, or if it will work, but lets try anyway!”

His friends smiled nervously. They all put their weapons to the side, and sat down on the floor, awaiting Davy’s orders.

“Alright then. Lets start with figuring out how to use yours. I want you to meditate. Clear your mind of anything and everything. Once you have done that, I want you to search your mind for your powers. It is hidden in everyone, as far as I know. All you need to do is find it, and unlock it. It may take a while, so be patient.”

Davy sat in front of the six, and waited. They sat there. Beads of sweat trickled from some of their foreheads. Davy waited for five minutes. Then ten. Ten turned into fifteen, then, finally, Davy saw Sam open his eyes. They were glowing with purple for a brief moment, then they faded. Davy looked at the group, and saw them starting to do the same. After another minute, his friends were panting from the effort.

“Did it work? Did you find your inner voodoo supply?” Davy asked.

The six nodded.

“I found something…” Zolina said.

Davy chuckled. “Well, looks like you have all done it. You have unlocked your voodoo powers. That was the easy part. Now you need to know how to use them.”

Davy got up and walked to his desk. He picked up six empty bottles, and placed one in front of each of his friends.

“Now, this task is simple. I want you all to try to lift the bottle in front of you without touching it. Use your voodoo powers. Concentrate all your thoughts on the bottle, and will it to rise. It will take a lot of effort at first, but you should get the hang of it fast.”

And then came another period of waiting. The group tried for a half hour, and could not do it. The half hour turned into an hour, which turned into two. Davy could see the frustration building up in them. Kate had been biting her lip so hard that it bled. Will was drenched in sweat. Finally, Davy spoke up.

“Lets call it a day for now mates.”

“Call it a day?” Sam said in surprise. “It can’t be past three in the afternoon!”

“Your working very hard mates. Take the bottle with you, and every time you get a chance to practice it, try. Now go! Get yourselves some food and rum.”

The group left, and Davy followed them out. He walked up to the helm of the ship. He leaned against the side of the ship and looked out across the ship. The sea was calm, and the water was sparkling from the sun’s rays, which could shine unchallenged due to the lack of clouds. Davy saw a small group of flying fish jump out of the water and go back down.

Finally, Davy could be at peace for the next few weeks, until they reached Padres Del Fuego.

~~~~~~~~~~

The training continued for the next two weeks. On the third day, Sam finally was able to lift the bottle. During the same day and the next day, everyone else was able to lift it as well. Davy then began training them on how to use the elements to their advantage, such as casting balls of fire, or causing bolts of lighting to strike objects. Davy wanted to get each of them a staff, but there was no good wood aboard the ship that could be made into a staff. He decided that he could visit some gypsies when they reached Padres, and purchase some staffs from them.

After about two weeks, the group was very skilled in voodoo. They could lift objects and move them around, cast voodoo spells, and Zolina even learned invisibility. Davy was confident in the group’s abilities, and was sure that they could help him in the training of the rest of the crew, as Davy decided it was time to reveal the voodoo arts to them. On the sixteenth day of the voyage, Davy called the crew onto the deck.

“Ahoy there my crew!” Davy said to the crew. “First, let me say that you have all been doing a great job of sailing this ship. I couldn’t ask for a better crew, and I am very proud to be your captain. This ship has truly been ship-shape!”

Some of the crew chuckled at the little joke, then Davy continued.

“What I am about to show and teach to you may be somewhat disturbing to some of you, but I will tell you that it will be very beneficial to you when we fight the undead again.

“Some of you have heard of ‘voodoo’ before. Now, some of you would like to learn it, some perhaps already know a little, and some of you are probably horrified by the thought of it. Now, I have been hiding something from you all. I myself, am a voodoo user. It is probably what has kept me alive in all these fights against Jolly and other ships.”

The crew started mumbling to each other and glancing at Davy, some in curiosity, others in fear.

“Don’t worry my friends, I am not forcing you to learn it, nor am I going to punish it or use it in any wrongful way towards you. But I urge you to learn how to use voodoo arts. I and my six friends here; Sam, Matt, Will, Luckie, Zolina, and Kate, will help to teach it to you. When the time comes, you will not regret learning it. Now, is there anyone who does not wish to learn this?”

The crew was silent.

“Well then! Training of it will begin tomorrow in the morning! Meet right here, and you will be split into groups. Is that clear?”

The crew yelled in affirmative.

“Very good! Back to your duties!”

The crew dispersed, and Davy turned to his friends. They nodded at him, and then everyone went to their stations.

~~~~~~~~~~

The training of the crew went well. Each teacher had about the same amount of people to teach. Each of the crew took slightly longer than the original pirates Davy taught, but all went well in the end. After about two and a half weeks, the crew was able to use voodoo well.

There were few major mistakes that anyone did, except for one of the crewmates accidentally sending a cannon flying off the edge of his ship when he was trying to move it.

Soon, everything on the ship seemed easier. The crew was able to use voodoo to do some of their jobs, speeding up most of the duties significantly.

One day, Davy called his trusted group into his cabin again. They seated themselves, and each grabbed a bottle of rum.

“Well mates, we’ve done it. We’ve got the whole crew using voodoo powers. There is no other mortal crew in the world that can take us on, we are truly a unique crew, and a unique crew, calls for a unique name.”

“Are you implying that we start a guild?” Matt asked.

“Somewhat, yes. We all have a common trait, using voodoo powers. That means that we are the start of a guild. And every guild needs a name.”

Will nodded, “Do you have any ideas Davy?”

“Well, I was thinking that we should tie it to the name of our ship, The Shadow King. Perhaps something along the lines of ‘The Shadow’s Warlocks’?”

Sam shook his head. “That doesn’t sound right. We don’t belong to the ship, the ship belongs to us. And warlocks? No.”

“Sorcerers!” It was Zolina who spoke.

“That’s a good one!” Davy exclaimed. “Sorcerers! Sorcerors! Spelled differently, to imply that we are not only Sorcerers, but also swordsmen, sailors, et cetera. Sorcerer, or…”

“Very well then. On this day, the Shadow Sorcerors are born! May we rule the seas for many years to come, and for the army of the undead to fear our name!”

“Huzzah!” The group yelled.

Davy smiled at the name of his new crew, Shadow Sorcerors. As they were leaving the cabin, one of the lookouts, Meg Mcbones, came up to Davy.

“Captain,” she said. “Padres Del Fuego spotted in the distance. If we keep sailing under full colors as we are now, we should reach in within two or so hours.”

Davy nodded. “Thank you Meg. Lets stop sailing for now. We can resume our sail a few hours before dawn. I have a plan in mind. You will drop off Sam, Matt, Will, Kate, Zolina, Luckie, and I on a deserted beach on Padres very early in the morning, before most people are up. You will then sail off and find yourselves a hidden cove in the island, where you will wait until we return from hunting for Billy.”

“Yes Captain,” Meg said before hurrying off.

Davy walked up to the front of The Shadow King. The volcano of Padres erupted, sending smoke out of the mountain and bits of lava, which cooled in the air and fell as dust and tiny pieces of rock.

Tomorrow morning, the hunt for Billy Fireskull would begin.

There you are!

@SEAKING. If you want to be in my story, please PM me, and I'll try to fit you in somewhere. Chances are that you will end up as a crewmate.

In my opinion, this is my most action packed, and dramatic chapter yet. Enjoy!

Chapter 19: Into the Catacombs

The group snuck off the ship just before dawn. Nobody saw them, and The Shadow King made it safely away from the harbor before the Navy fort could spot them. The group that left to land consisted of Davy, Sam, Will, Kate, Luckie, and Zolina; the Shadow Sorcerors Officers. Matt stayed behind to captain the ship in Davy’s absence. They would all be needed for this dangerous mission.

Davy knew that Billy was in the Catacombs somewhere. He also knew that the Catacombs were infested with skeletons. When Jolly had attempted an invasion of Padres and failed many years ago, the remaining skeletons fled into the Catacombs of Padres Del Fuego. With every death that occurred on the island, more undead would rise in the caves, slowly building up the forces of Jolly Roger on Padres Del Fuego. It was almost *******, attempting to go into one of Jolly Roger’s strongholds. Nobody had ever left the caves alive.

The Sorcerors snuck through town, not making a single sound. The entrance to the caves was towards the back of the town, near the graveyard. It would likely be quiet there, as nobody ventured near those parts. Sightings of skeletons were not uncommon there. After a half hour walk, the group reached the graveyard. Kate glanced around nervously.

“I feel it too,” Davy said, looking at Kate. “Something is not right about this place. Come on, lets get to the Catacombs. I want to get out of here as soon as possible.”

“Aye, I never liked Padres. It’s a skeleton infested wasteland if you ask me,” Sam said. “Ready your swords mates. Some of us may not come out of this place alive.”

The group walked towards the hole in the side of the mountain, surrounded by burnt out torches. They all stood at the opening of the tunnels that would take them to the Catacombs, and then headed inside the dark cave entrance.

The cave was dark, but not damp. If anything, it was dry and hot. Unfortunately, it would only get worse as they headed deeper into the cave system, closer to the core of the volcano. The walls were made of solid stone; a mixture of granite and other volcanic stone. Stalactites hung above the Sorcerors, fifty feet above them, and stalagmites towered next to them, like stone towers. As they walked through the cave, they passed by small trickles of magma, and soon it seemed like off to the sides were entire rivers of molten rock. The temperature continued to raise, and soon, the group was coated in sweat. After the first hour and a half or so of walking, it must have already been close to forty five degrees Celsius. After two hours, they met their first skeletons. The group all hid behind a large boulder, and Davy watched the group.

“It’s a fairly large group,” Davy whispered to his friends. “I would estimate, oh, twenty to twenty five of ‘em. Armed with swords and daggers. A few look like they are undead gypsies, so they will be using voodoo dolls. Assuming that they count about twenty five, that would mean us six would be against twenty five.”

“Normally that would be a problem,” Will said. “However the undead tend to not be as good of fighters as us. They rely on surprise and fear when fighting powerful foes such as ourselves. If we can jump them fast, while they have their guard down, we can take out at least half of them before they are ready to actually fight.”

“He’s right,” Luckie said. “They are also just sitting down and taking a rest. Guess boneheads have to take rests too. They are unprepared and we can take them. Unless we have underestimated their strength, which would be our downfall.”

The group prepared to draw their weapons, but Sam held up his hand quickly. “They will notice us if they hear swords being drawn,” He said. “That would be our downfall. I have a better idea.”

Sam gestured upward, above the group of skeletons. A large stalactite hung over them. “If we can bring that stalactite down on them, it can kill most of them. The rest will be knocked down or stunned. That’s when we attack.”

“How are we supposed to bring that giant piece of rock down?! Its gigantic!” Zolina said. It was Davy who answered.

“If we all focus on it, maybe we can bring it down. I want everyone to focus all their strength on dislodging it from the roof of the cave. Once its dislodged, allow it to fall, and while the boneheads are looking at the piece of rock in shock, draw your swords. Once it lands, attack.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Kate said, as the others nodded in agreement.

“Alright, on my mark,” Davy said. “Now!”

The group shut their eyes, and concentrated on the piece of rock. At first nothing happened. Then, the roof started to rumble, and some small rocks began to fall. One small rock fell and hit a skeleton on the head. He muttered a cry of pain, then, rubbing his head, he looked up, along with his group. What they saw was a massive stalactite falling down on them. It hit, reducing a chunk of the group to dust. Then the Sorcerors charged.

With their weapons drawn, they attacked the confused skeleton group. Davy, with the sword he picked up from the Shadow King, sliced and diced through the boneheads. Sam was a sight to behold with his cutlass, slashing through skeletons as if they were made of butter. Zolina, using her dagger, snuck up behind the confused skeletons and stabbed them from behind. Luckie blasted away with her voodoo staff she purchased from a gypsy on the way to the caves. Will and Kate, with their broadswords, danced with the skeletons, slicing off their limbs, and reducing them to dust. After just a few minutes, all that was left of the group was dust, and a gigantic piece of stone sticking out of the ground.

“Well,” Kate said. “I must say, that I haven’t had that much fun in days! Good job everyone!”

“Aye, but lets not get too confident,” Davy said. “We still have a long way to go, if we are to rescue Billy.”

The group moved on. They walked for another few hours, passing through the caves with little interest. It was quite monotonous. Just more rock, stalagmites, stalactites, and lava rivers. One time they ended up walking over a stone bridge, above a lake of lava hundreds of feet below them.

“Don’t want to fall there…” Sam muttered.

They rounded more corners. The cave was lit by the fires that burned within it, as well as several torches within the tunnels. How they were still burning was a mystery to Davy. The group stopped for lunch and a short rest, and moved on quickly. There was no time to lose.

Soon, it began to cool down slightly. It was still hot, but it wasn’t like walking around in a campfire. They stopped passing lava rivers, and soon, was just like walking around in a regular cave, rather than the tunnels of a volcano. The tunnel became slightly more twisty, and was going straight forward rather than slowly going down.

They soon began to hear chattering. The chattering of skeleton teeth. The group drew their weapons nervously. Thank goodness they did, because as they turned another corner, they came face to face with another group of skeletons. This one was about the same size as the previous one, but unfortunately, they didn’t have the element of surprise.

“GO!!!” Davy yelled. The Sorcerors charged, as did the skeletons. These skeletons seemed stronger. Davy locked swords with one, and felt his foes broadsword pushing against him. Davy pushed him away using voodoo, and charged him, stabbing him through the stomach. The skeleton collapsed and turned to dust. Davy heard the blasts of Luckie’s staff, and decided that he would pull his out too. He sheathed his sword, and pulled out his staff out of the sling he kept it on, on his back. He casted a ball of fire, which hovered right above the tip of the staff, and launched it at a group of skeletons.

The fire burned straight through them, burning them alive, or dead, as they were skeletons. They disintegrated, leaving nothing but dust and burning rags from what were their tattered clothes. The battle raged on for several more minutes. Finally, all the skeletons were defeated. The group hadn’t suffered serious injuries; however, Will got a decent gash across his left arm.

“No big deal,” he said through gritted teeth. “I use my right hand anyway. Just bandage it up and I’ll be okay.”

After it was bandaged, they continued on. They had been walking for what they guessed was at least seven hours. They decided to find a spot to camp soon. After another hour of walking, they arrived at a solid wall with a rusted gate blocking a path. The path lead into another cave, which sloped uphill after going a few meters.

“Lets stop here,” Davy said. “We are all exhausted, and it will do us well to get some sleep. After that, we can continue on. That has to be the entrance to the Catacombs.”

Sam nodded. “Its going to get real tricky after we pass through that gate. Even more skeletons will be there. Some in large groups, some in small. We will always be fighting, chances are. We have to be ready for that.”

“Billy will likely be deep within them, so we have to be moving fast,” Davy said. “We can’t risk camping out in those caves, so we have to move in, and get out.”

“From what I know,” Zolina said. “The Catacombs are fairly small compared to what we just went through. It shouldn’t be too difficult, unless we can’t move three meters without being ambushed by skeletons.”

“Lets hope that’s not the case,” Davy said. “Now, lets get some rest. Good night all! Assuming it is night. You can never tell in these infernal caves…”

~~~~~~~~~~

The group woke. They were unsure of what time it was. For all they knew, they could have slept for six hours, or sixteen.

It doesn’t matter, Davy thought. All that matters is finding Billy, and getting him out of here.

The group got up, and stood at the gate. Luckie took out her staff, and charged up a spell. The released it, and the gates flew backward and slammed against the ground, making a loud, unnerving sound that probably just let every skeleton in the caves know that they were there. The whole group glared at Luckie.

“Hehe,” She said. “Oops?”

They walked through, stepping over the fallen rusty gates. They continued uphill, until they arrived into another tunnel, but it wasn’t any ordinary tunnel.

“It’s a tomb…” Will said

“Aye, that’s what Catacombs are. Burial places,” Kate said.

They moved through the tunnel. Soon they arrived in a large open room, with stalactites dangling above them. It was made of about the same stone as the Lava Gorge that they had previously went through, but it was less hot. The temperature hovered around thirty five degrees Celsius. The group walked to the center of the cave, but stopped suddenly. There was a sound of rocks tumbling down the cave. They turned, and saw something that chilled their bones. Clinging to the upper walls of the cave, were dozens of skeletons. They surrounded the cave, grinning without any sense of humor in their face.

A skeleton that appeared to be the lead skeleton made a chattering noise, and the skeletons began to drop to the ground. They landed, drew their weapons, and advanced.

“Davy…” Zolina said.

“Uhh… run?” Davy said.

The group needed no further orders. They ran like they never ran before. The skeletons continued dropping from the ceiling, and soon there were at least sixty chasing them.

“Sam!” Davy cried. He pointed toward a boulder lying on the ground. Sam knew what he meant. They lifted the boulder up using their voodoo powers, straining with the effort, and sent it flying towards the skeletons. It crushed a huge amount of them, but not enough to make it safe.

They continued running. Occasionally, one of them would cast a spell with their staff, taking down several skeletons. But more skeletons joined them, canceling out any that they defeated, and adding on to the enemy’s numbers. The group rounded a corner, leading them to a fork in the road.

“Which way Davy!?” Luckie cried out.

One side lead down a tunnel, similar to the one they were in before. The other, the one to the right, had a crumbling stone arch above the entry. Davy could sense that that was the right way to go.

Davy pointed toward it. “That way!”

They ran towards it, but were stopped by another group of skeletons dropping from the ceiling. About three dozen more skeletons dropped, blocking their way. Davy turned around, and saw the large group of skeletons that had been chasing them. They were getting close. He looked up, and saw several stalactites. He focused on a boulder nearby, and Sam saw what he was doing. He assisted him, and they lifted it up. Then, they sent it flying at the ceiling. It slammed against it, rattling the cave. Stalactites began to fall, crushing their pursuing skeletons, and blocking the path for the surviving ones.

“I think that you just blocked our exit,” Kate said in horror. “Now how do we get out?”

“That can be figured out later,” Davy said. “For now, there are dozens of skeletons surrounding us. Lets worry about them first. ATTACK!”

They charged the skeletons blocking the stone archway. They hacked and slashed. Luckie was forced to put away her staff and pull out her sword. The skeletons went down in large numbers, but they were tough. Davy got a gash on his leg that forced him to limp. A skeleton slashed Zolina across the face, from her upper jaw to her chin, leaving a cut that would likely scar.

“We can’t go on much longer!” Davy cried out as he dodged a skeleton’s sword, and then came back in, slicing him in half. “Run through that arch! I’ll collapse the cave on top of them!”

The group finished off the bonehead they were working on, and shoved past the crowd of skeletons. Slashing through any that dared to fight them, they finally made it through the arch. Davy and some other members of the group collapsed the ceiling, destroying the arch, and ceiling them into the tunnel.

“Billy is close. I remember this place from my vision,” Davy said.

They walked down the tunnel. It was fairly narrow, perhaps only four meters across. Small stalagmites crew out of the ground. The ground was more sandy than stony. It curved to the left slowly, and finally straightened out. After a few minutes of walking, they reached another fork. In one direction, the tunnel continued. In the other, it went into another passage that looked like it lead to a special chamber of some sort.

“We can exit via this tunnel, but for now, we have to go into this new fork. That’s where Billy is hidden. I know it. I feel it.”

The group drew their swords and followed him. It was quieter, almost deathly quiet. They were surrounded by the dead, who hadn’t been disturbed for many, many years. This tomb smelled dank and of mold and mildew. They followed the short passage, and arrived into a large burial chamber. Most likely, where the other buried people’s patron was buried.

“This is the place,” Davy said. “This is the place I saw in my dream. This is where Billy should be, where Jolly was torturing him…”

Davy walked forward, near the sarcophagus. Past it was the stone wall. There were broken chains hanging from it. The chains that had hung Billy in his vision.

“He should be here,” Davy muttered. Then in anger, he kicked a dented metal helmet on the floor, sending it skittering across the cave. “But where is he?!”

Click click. The group heard the sound of a gun being loaded. They all turned around simultaneously, to the source of the noise. Kate gasped, and the others stood in horror.

Standing just ten meters away from them, armed with a pistol, was Billy Fireskull. Davy’s own brother.

-----

DUN DUN DUN

I honestly can't wait to see your reactions to the ending of that chapter. Please post comments!

Wow. This chapter was amazing Davy! I love the action and the imagery that went with it! Never a dull moment here mate! And yes, that was an incredible cliffhanger. Now, get to writing so I can know more! Hiyah!

Billy sneered. He held his repeater pistol pointed directly between Davy’s eyes. It was a good gun. Three barrels. Probably could fire a long distance and still be extremely accurate. And Davy didn’t doubt his brother’s shooting skills. But there was one thing wrong. Billy shouldn’t be aiming his gun at Davy. Should he? Something was wrong.

“Did you miss me brother?” Billy taunted. His voice was far more confident sounding, and he spoke with a voice of authority. His body was surprisingly in good condition. He had a large scar on his face, like in Davy’s vision. He had several other scars on his arm, but they didn’t show a sign of beating and weakness anymore. They made him look like he was tough, and had won a good deal of fights in his time. He was wearing an orange long vest with a swirl design on it, flowing downward. He had black pants, and black boots. Under his vest was a brown tank. He had no hat, but instead had his long hair tied up in a pony tail which stuck up.

What is going on?! Davy thought frantically. What is going on with Billy?!

Billy smiled evilly, looking at Davy and his friends. “Wondering what happened to me?” he asked.

Davy heard the loading of a gun, and turned to see Will loading his scattergun he carried.

“PUT THAT GUN DOWN WILL! THAT’S AN ORDER!” Davy roared. Even if Billy was going to attempt to kill him, he just couldn’t bear to see a shot fired at him.

He turned back to Billy. “Billy. What happened? And put that gun down for God’s sake! Please! We’re here to help ye!”

Billy laughed. “Davy, you don’t understand what’s happening here. Jolly Roger has the Sword of Darkness now. The sword that was supposed to be locked away on that godforsaken island. You gave it to Jolly, and doomed us all! Or, you anyway. After Jolly captured me during that battle, he took me here, and chained me to that rock.” Billy gestured towards the wall where he had been chained. He rubbed his wrists, as if feeling where the shackles had dug into his skin. Then he continued.

“I was a fool to resist. Why do you even fight? With that sword, he has unlimited power. You already saw how many skeletons ambushed you here. That’s not even a puny fraction of what he can do! Within months, weeks even, Jolly will have a force so strong that he can wipe out every foe that resists him with ease! Resistance is futile! Just look at the logic, he will win in the end!”

“Billy! What’s he done to you?!” Zolina cried out, “You know that he is only trying to manipulate you! Please Billy! There is always hope! And Jolly Roger is evil! If he takes over, nobody will survive! Perhaps he will keep you for a while, but once he takes over, he will dispose of you like an old piece of clothing!”

Billy closed his eyes and smiled. “Zolina, you don’t see this do you. Jolly is the winning side. It is clear that he will win. Look at the logic! He has a massive army and armada at his disposal, and with this sword, he is even more powerful! He is unstoppable! He showed me all the possibilities himself! There is no flaw in his logic!”

Davy shook his head. “Billy. What has he done to you?”

“He has only told me the truth. It is inevitable that he will win out in the end. And, he promised me that he could bring back our parents…”

This caught Davy’s attention. If Jolly could bring his parents back from the dead, that could change Davy’s life. His parents, who he had lost at such a young age. His parents, who had always been there…

Then Davy snapped out of it.

Its not natural, Davy thought. Bringing people back from the dead. Even if it’s my parents. Knowing Jolly, he probably is just manipulating me through Billy. As much as I want to…

“Billy, please. Don’t. It isn’t natural!” Davy said. “Billy. Please come back with us. You don’t have to do this!”

Billy paused for a moment, then stood firmly. “I’m afraid I must Davy. And unfortunately, if you aren’t with me, then you are against me. Attack them! Now!”

From the ceiling, two or so dozen skeletons dropped. They drew their weapons, and slowly advanced. Billy put his gun away, and drew his long battle dagger that he carried around. He waited behind the skeletons as they advanced, and slowly began advancing behind them.

“Davy…” Sam said.

Davy took a breath. He never thought he would be fighting his own brother. But he couldn’t just let his friends die.

“Destroy the skeletons,” Davy said. “Show no mercy to them. If you have to fight Billy, injure him, but don’t kill.”

“Aye, aye sir…” Kate said.

The skeletons were almost on them now. The Sorcerors drew their blades, and charged. Their anger and rage fueled their strength, and they cut through the skeletons like straw dummies. More skeletons arrived. It seemed like for every skeleton defeated, another took its place.

“Mates! We have to move towards the exit! Go!” Luckie cried out.

The group slowly fought their way to the exit of the cavern. They finally arrived, many skeletons later, and slowly began filing out. Davy was last. He was about to go, when he heard a gunshot, and a bullet ricochet off the cave wall, not six inches from his head. He turned to see Billy holding a smoking pistol. With more skeletons building up behind him.

“Get them,” Billy said simply.

“Go!” Davy cried out.

The group didn’t need any further prompting. They dashed out. They ran into the continuation of the tunnel that had taken them there; the end that hadn’t caved in. They kept running, and rounded a corner. In front of them, stood Billy, with over fifty skeletons behind him.

The group ran into another side tunnel, leaving the enemy behind them. For safe measures, Kate and Luckie collapsed the entrance to the tunnel, so they couldn’t be pursued. They kept running, rounding corners, constantly in fear of being pursued. Davy couldn’t believe what was happening. His own brother was trying to kill him. Sam was no better. Having lived with Billy for just as long as Davy had, he was as good as Billy’s brother as well. It was heartbreaking.

The tunnel rounded another corner, and the group came into a gigantic cavern. It was massive, consisting of a cliff, which the Sorcerors stood on, that dropped off into a deep, dark abyss, of which there was no visible bottom. Off to the other side, there was a slightly higher cliff, with a strange green fire burning on it.

“Lets get out of here,” Zolina said. “This place gives me the creeps.”

The group started running across the Cliffside, when all of the sudden, they heard a loud bang, and the sound of something flying through the air. What they heard next, was a cry of pain from Sam, and his cutlass dropping to the stone floor.

Kate gasped in horror, and covered her mouth.

“My Lord God. What happened?” Will said shakily.

Davy stood in horror, as he saw Sam fallen on the floor, blood pouring from a bullet wound in his side. He was sweating feverishly, and was grunting softly. Davy looked up, and saw Billy armed with a musket, reloading it on the opposite cliff. Billy had shot Sam.

“Mates, we can’t linger! Will, can you hoist Sam onto your shoulders? We have to get out of here!” Davy said hurriedly. “Billy will shoot again!”

Will nodded, and gently picked Sam’s quivering body up. They ran back to the side of the cliff they came from, and back into the tunnels. Unfortunately, the worst happened. Billy and another group of skeletons stood in front of them, blocking the way to the rest of the tunnel.

For a moment, Billy stood in shock, then he realized that Davy was pulling out his staff. “Get them!” Billy said.

The skeletons advanced once more, but they didn’t get far. Davy raised his staff, muttered an incantation, and let the spell loose. With a loud bang, a gigantic dust storm surrounded the Sorcerors, and vaporized the skeletons outside. While it was going on, the cave began to rumble, and rocks started to fall all around them. The last thing Davy saw before he blacked out was Billy turning around, and walking away.

Ahh!!! That was intense mate! Good god, that was brilliant! I absolutely loved it, but you left us with another cliffhanger, aye? I'll be waiting anxiously on the edge of my seat till the next one mate.